Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Miami Grand Prix
Photo from Reuters
After a long hiatus due to the war in Iran canceling the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Formula 1 is back! And it’s back with new car updates, a familiar dominant team returning to form, and Ferrari, well.
Being Ferrari.
Here are the winners and losers from Miami.
Losers
5. Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly didn’t do anything wrong, but he got hit from the side and flipped over which ruined his race.
And frankly, any time a race car flips over, that’s not great!
4. Isack Hadjar
Disqualified from qualifying, and crashed out of the race early on.
Not the return from break Hadjar was hoping for, I’m sure.
3. Max Verstappen
After a wonderful 2nd place in qualifying, it looked like Max Verstappen and Red Bull were back.
But on the opening lap, Verstappen got overzealous and ended up in an incident that spun his car around and cost him a possible podium.
He still finished 5th, but it was certainly a missed opportunity.
2. George Russell
In fairness to George, this was a track he said is not one of his best and to not expect too much, and it is still quite a long season.
But this is another race where Russell was easily beaten by his teammate Kimi Antonelli, and if this is truly a one team battle for the title, he’s certainly losing ground.
1. Charles Leclerc
Oh Charles…
Leclerc got the lead on the opening lap, lost it later on due to an early pit stop, but was still slated to the finish on the podium.
And then, on the final lap, Leclerc spun and lost positions. All the way from 3rd down to 6th.
6th then became 8th a little bit later, after Leclerc was given a 20 second penalty for leaving the track unnecessarily.
A miserable final lap for Leclerc ruined what would have been a great weekend.
Winners
5. Oscar Piastri
The Australian driver was having a very bad start to go with his very bad end of last season, but I’m sure he’ll love a podium in his return from break, even if it was earned due to Leclerc’s errors.
A podium is a podium!
4. Williams
Double points!
And it looked like a really poor year was on the cards for Williams, so a double points finish for Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon is very welcome.
3. Franco Colapinto
All it took for Franco was to meet his idol Lionel Messi before the race for him to get an excellent 7th place finish and a huge chunk of points for Alpine.
This has been a much better year than last for the Argentine.
2. Lando Norris
The reigning champion got pole in the sprint, won the sprint, and had a very good chance to win tonight before being undercut on pit stops.
Still, McLaren looks like they very well might be back!
The fight may be on.
1. Kimi Antonelli
I can’t say enough about how impressive Antonelli has been this season.
This is the young Italian’s first chance at a title fight, and he is answering the call and then some.
Another win, and Antonelli’s points lead has been extended over his teammate George Russell.
He’s not a future star. He’s a flat out star.
